Whumptober 2019 - 22 - Hallucination
by DinerGuy
Summary: 2018 reboot. Trapped and fading fast, Magnum's no longer in Hawaii but Afghanistan, once again left in solitary... but then Nuzo's there. And, if Nuzo's there, then everything's going to be okay.


_A/N: __Standard disclaimers apply._

_All the angst coming at ya in 3... 2... 1..._

* * *

The small room was dim, illuminated only by what sunlight filtered through the crack under the door and the few scattered across the walls. No air stirred inside, keeping the temperature unbearably high as the sun beat down on the wooden building.

Sweat was streaming down Magnum's face, soaking his clothes and causing them to stick to his overheated skin. He knew it was bad, that the effects of dehydration were already getting to him with the way his head was pounding and his mouth was bone dry—but that was the least of his worries. He shifted, trying to get more comfortable but unable to with the way his arms were tied behind his back.

He couldn't lie down; he'd tried that already. Lying on his back was out of the question with his bound wrists, but any attempts to lie on his side or stomach were worse. Between his strained left shoulder, his right side that had at least one fractured rib, and the repeated blows he'd taken to his torso and abdomen, there was no way he was lying down at all.

So he'd settled for huddling awkwardly against one of the walls, trying to support himself while also relieving the pressure on his injured side. His head felt like it might explode, and he couldn't concentrate on anything. The room swam around him, flickering in and out of focus as his eyes blinked more and more slowly. Eventually, he couldn't even keep them open, and he felt his head sagging.

He couldn't remember what he'd done this time to get himself dragged into solitary. Honestly, he couldn't even remember being dragged into solitary this time. He frowned, unable to get his mind to stay on one train of thought long enough to recall. If he had to guess, it was probably over something stupid—again—but that didn't really matter at the moment. Clearly, whatever it was had been bad enough to prompt the beating and being left alone like this. He just hoped his friends were okay, that whatever had happened to him hadn't also been taken out on the others.

He felt himself sinking into unconsciousness and didn't even notice when the darkness fully enveloped him and everything faded away…

Just before he dropped back against the wall, he found himself wondering if he'd ever wake up again, if his friends would ever know what had happened to him.

* * *

"Rick."

At the sound of his name, Rick glanced up. T.C. gave him a small but encouraging smile—even while Rick could see the same fear dancing in the other man's eyes as he knew was in his own.

"Hey," T.C. said quietly. "We're gonna get him back."

Rick swallowed and nodded slowly. The heat was getting to him, and he could feel the sweat dripping down his back, under his shirt. He couldn't imagine what their friend might be dealing with at that moment. "I know… it's just…" He trailed off, unable to voice his thoughts.

"I know," T.C. told him. "But Thomas is strong. If anyone can make it through this, it's him."

_"Any sign of him?" _Higgins' voice crackling over their radio interrupted the conversation.

"Not yet," T.C. replied, clenching his jaw. No one had to say anything; they all knew how bad the situation was quickly becoming.

The trees had been too thick for anyone to get a good view from overhead, so the search party was hiking through the jungle in a desperate search for the structure they'd been told was in the area. The genius criminal Katsumoto had spent the morning grilling couldn't even remember the exact location, just that he'd followed instructions and helped dump the nosy P.I. there and then left. Once he'd been paid, he didn't particularly care to pay attention to anything else, much less ask what the man who'd hired him had planned to do with the captive.

Of course, that tune had changed the minute he'd started looking down the years of jail time he was now being threatened with, and he'd given them as an exact of a location as he could—which, granted, hadn't been much. Even Higgins' technical skills had only been able to determine a ten-mile radius based off of the cell towers the man's phone had pinged the day before. And in the wilderness they were facing… that was an enormous amount of terrain.

So now, they were searching that area on foot. Although there were others helping with the search and rescue efforts, Rick, T.C., and Higgins had insisted on being part of the team with boots on the ground—and Katsumoto hadn't even tried to argue. Instead, he'd just nodded and offered to team up with Higgins while they started working the grid.

It was another hour before Higgins' voice came over the radio, full of simultaneous hope and worry. _"We've got him!"_

* * *

"Magnum?"

The voice drifted through the haze, pulling him slowly back to reality.

He frowned. He really didn't want to respond; staying asleep was so much easier than having to deal with the pain of reality. Maybe if he ignored it, it would go away… He wondered if he was dreaming it all anyway. Maybe this was just another symptom of the heat getting to his head.

"Magnum!"

It came again, clearer this time, and he couldn't ignore it. But… who was there? His captors wouldn't be calling him by name. They called him plenty of things, sure, but never by his actual name—even though he knew they knew it.

"Hold on, okay? You're going to be okay."

Who… was that Nuzo? Magnum struggled to open his eyes. Was he imagining things? Had he been brought back to the others while he was unconscious?

He hoped that was the explanation. The only other reason for Nuzo being next to him now was if the men who were holding them had decided to play another of their sick games, and Magnum couldn't bear the thought of one of them being used against the other.

There were hands on his arms now, and he Magnum realized he was still leaning against the wall. With that knowledge, his stomach sank, because he realized that meant he hadn't been moved—

And then he cried out in pain as the hands gently but firmly leaned him away from the wall and something tugged at his wrists.

"Shh, shh. Sorry. Hey, you're okay," Nuzo said softly. "Here, lie back."

And then Magnum felt himself being lowered to the ground, and his brow twitched in surprise as he felt his head rest on something soft rather than the hard dirt he'd expected to encounter. He still couldn't find the strength to open his eyes, and his head was pounding too severely for him to try to figure out what Nuzo had done, so he just accepted it. If Nuzo was there, Magnum knew his friend would be doing everything possible to help him, so it must be okay.

"Hey, can you open your eyes for me?"

No… He wanted to. He really wanted to, but he just couldn't make himself do it.

Magnum licked his lips, feeling the dryness of the cracked skin under his tongue that felt thick and slow—it was the heat, he knew it, just as he knew that was why his voice sounded so hoarse and cracked when he tried to respond. "I…" He trailed off with a hacking cough and felt his chest heaving as he tried to take in more air than his lungs seemed capable of inhaling.

The coughing and struggle to breathe had his chest burning, and he groaned at the way _everything_ seemed to hurt.

"Shh, hey, it's okay." There was a hand on his forehead then, gentle and cool.

Magnum felt himself leaning into the touch even as unconsciousness started to creep up on him again. He could feel hands exploring his injuries now, and he groaned weakly as his head spun.

Then Nuzo was talking, and Magnum tried to make himself listen. He just couldn't process the words with the way the throbbing of his head kept increasing by the minute. It was a struggle just to focus on breathing, much less listen to whatever his friend was saying.

It wasn't that he didn't want to. He just _couldn't._

He thought he heard another voice then, even as gentle hands brushed at his hair, and he swallowed, feeling how rough his throat was. He must really be losing it, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Hey, stay with me!" he thought he heard Nuzo saying nearby. "Come on. Come on! Open your eyes for me, Magnum."

But… as much as he wanted to… he couldn't…

He wanted to apologize… but the effort was just too much, and he felt himself slipping away.

* * *

"We have to cool him down," Higgins said, looking up to meet Katsumoto's eyes from where she was sitting cross-legged on the floor. "He's burning up." She bit her lip. "I don't know if we can get his shirt off without injuring his shoulder more, but we have to at least get as much clothing off as we can."

The detective nodded grimly even as Higgins leaned forward to start unbuttoning Magnum's shirt. When he shifted and let out a hoarse whimper of pain at the way she'd accidentally jostled his shoulder, she pulled back and swallowed, frustration crossing her face.

"Here." Katsumoto quickly took over, wincing at the bruising that was revealed as Magnum's shirt fell away from his chest. He just shook his head and reached for Higgins' rucksack where she'd left it when she'd dropped to the floor to cradle Magnum's head in her lap. He pulled two water bottles from it and handed them to her before swinging his own pack off his shoulders.

Higgins immediately unscrewed the lid from the first bottle, and Katsumoto was grateful the heat of the afternoon had warmed the water from how cold it had been when the search party had started out. They wouldn't have been able to even try to get Magnum to drink any otherwise.

By the time the medical team rushed inside the room, Higgins and Katsumoto had used up almost all of their water supply trying to cool Magnum down. The P.I. was still unconscious and didn't even twitch when he was loaded onto the backboard and strapped in.

Ignoring the way their own clothes were now wet and dirty, they both pushed to their feet, swung their packs onto their backs, and each grabbed a corner of the litter. The more hands carrying the weight, the faster they could move—and the faster they could get Magnum to the closest clearing so medevac could get him back to the city and to the hospital.

* * *

Magnum stared up at the ceiling, blinking at the dull gray tiles as he tried to process his jumble of memories. Everything was so fuzzy and blended together in one long nightmare, but he clearly recalled how certain he had been that Nuzo had been there to help him through it.

But now that he was awake again and aware of what had happened, he could clearly remember the day he'd found his buddy murdered in the back of a stolen ambulance. And, although he'd spent weeks—months—grieving that loss, it was all coming back fresh and harsh and painful, and Magnum could feel the tears burning his eyes.

He knew it was partly due to the medication coursing through his system, but he also knew he'd never fully gotten over Nuzo's death—honestly, he never would. Not fully. And the pain and the drugs were only adding to the raw sense of loss he felt clawing at him. He knew now that he'd been hallucinating his old friend in the place of Higgy and Katsumoto when they'd found him, but that didn't make it any easier.

Swallowing past what felt like sandpaper in his throat, he tried to concentrate past his emotions. He was so intently focused on the ceiling overhead that he didn't even hear the door to his room opening; the hand slipping into his made him start slightly and glance to his right.

Rick was watching him with concern etched across his face. "You okay?"

"I…" Magnum sighed. "I thought I was back in the camp," he said hoarsely, prompting Rick to lean in slightly to catch his words. "I… he… I thought Nuzo was there," he managed to finish haltingly. He could feel the drugs starting to tug him back under even as he spoke.

Rick's face softened with understanding. "Hey," he said, putting an encouraging hand on his friend's shoulder. "We're here for you, T.M. Whatever you need."

Blinking at the way his eyelids suddenly felt unbearably heavy, Magnum swallowed and let his gaze drift back up to the ceiling. Rick shifted beside him, the feeling of his hand bringing back memories of the way they'd all been there for each other through every terrible day in the Korengal. Magnum felt another emotion joining the pain of losing Nuzo all over again, even as his eyes slipped closed once again. But this one was warm and comforting—the knowledge that, no matter what happened, his friends would be there for him.

* * *

_Fin._


End file.
